


An Outing, a Brawl, and a Promise

by The_Lady_Crane



Series: IkeSoren Week 2021 [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Cute Kids, Festivals, Fights, I'm Bad At Titles, IkeSoren Week 2021, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28601805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Lady_Crane/pseuds/The_Lady_Crane
Summary: On the eve of the new year, Ike gets into trouble for the sake of Prince Soren's honor.---IkeSoren Week 2021Day 4: Festivals and Celebrations/Prince AU
Relationships: Ike/Senerio | Soren
Series: IkeSoren Week 2021 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091183
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24
Collections: IkeSoren Week 2021





	An Outing, a Brawl, and a Promise

**Author's Note:**

> I felt a bit uninspired with this one. I wanted it to be longer, but it seemed unnecessary to stretch it out any more.

“This is stupid.”

Ike turned back to his friend and grinned. “Nah, you’ll love it! Wait and see.”

Soren didn’t want to believe Ike. But he also knew that out of everyone in the world, Ike was the one person he could trust. He really had no choice in the matter. It would be a conflict of his ethics not to go, he told himself, because he had sworn to trust Ike no matter what. And so, he allowed Ike to drag him, cloaked and hooded, into unknown territory – through the gap in the outer wall, down the snowy slopes, and into town. For the first time in his life, he was entering Nevassa without mount or guard.

Then again, he was also entering Nevassa as a nameless urchin, not as Prince Soren of Daein. He had no reason to fear an attempted kidnapping or assassination (or so he told himself). He had his tome, and he had Ike. If his disguise failed to protect him, then either of the other options would work.

Ike wore no hood, only the thick fur cloak that was necessary during the long Daein winter. Soren didn’t feel the least bit burdened under his heavy cowl. His clothes didn’t stand out at all among the crowd that gradually thickened as they got closer to the town square. Even so, Soren held tightly to Ike’s hand. He couldn’t believe that he’d let himself be dragged out to such a dangerous place. He was only ten years old, and he had never been outside of the castle without an armed escort.

“They won’t start the bonfire until tonight,” Ike said. “Wanna get something to eat until then?”

“You just ate at the castle,” Soren pointed out, but Ike was already tugging him towards one of the food vendors along the street.

Roasted meats were a common food in Daein, owing to the harsh climate, poor soil, and abundance of game. The street food in Nevassa wasn’t so different from the foods Soren ate at the castle, but he had never seen such an abundance put out on display. Thick hams, braces of pheasant and hare, huge sides of beef, mutton haunches, fowl of all sizes, and rows and rows of smoked fish of all kinds dangled like holiday festoons up and down the street. Ike was clearly enamored with the sight; he gaped at the displays, his stomach audibly rumbling. Soren couldn’t help but smile at this.

There were sweets, too, which were much rarer outside of the noble homes. Pies and tarts gleamed under the golden glow of iron braziers, while spiced fruits enticed festival goers to stop and sniff the air. Everywhere he looked, Soren could see money changing hands. It seemed that the New Year Festival was something special, indeed, for even the poorest were here indulging in the sights and smells.

Ike bought a goose leg for himself and, because he insisted that Soren not miss out, a skewer of mutton for Soren. “We can go see the puppet show if you want,” Ike said, already tucking into his food. Soren nibbled at the mutton, still on guard against the throngs of people around them.

“Whatever you like,” Soren said.

“Oh! There’s a dueling show going on right now! Wanna see that?”

“If you want to.” Soren really didn’t have an opinion about where they went today. This was Ike’s territory, and he would follow wherever Ike wanted to lead him.

Naturally, the festivals in Daein often included a show of strength. Soren had seen some of the formal performances put on at the castle, when soldiers would fight for higher-ranking positions in the army. These were bloody battles, often to the death. He didn’t relish seeing them played out here, but he was reassured when he and Ike came to the edge of a crowd and found two men grappling with each other, weaponless. A referee seemed to be watching the action closely. Relaxing somewhat, Soren let Ike lead him to the front so they could watch.

The competitors were obviously amateurs – farmers, tradesmen, people who didn’t get a chance to fight professionally. But they were in good spirits, most of them buzzed on rich hearty mead and ale. They were bantering, landing light blows, and Soren could see that everyone was having a good time. Soren couldn’t care less about who won, but Ike was cheering with the others, and that made Soren’s heart soar. He had rarely seen Ike so elated. Soren finished his mutton skewer and allowed himself to lean in close to Ike, a soft smile on his face. He could certainly get used to this atmosphere.

Then he was unceremoniously shoved from behind, sending him stumbling into another spectator.

“Hey!” Ike was instantly at his side, pulling him to his feet, and the boy rounded on the taller man who had pushed into them. “Watch where you’re going!”

“You watch it, kid,” the man slurred. He was obviously drunk.

Soren ignored the indignant fury and grabbed Ike’s arm. “Let’s go,” he said, but Ike was now facing the drunkard. His fists balled and his eyes flashed.

“Apologize to my friend, right now!” Ike said in his most menacing voice – coming from a nine-year-old, this wasn’t too intimidating.

“What’re you gonna do to make me?” the man scoffed, reaching out to flick at Ike’s forehead.

Before Soren could stop him, Ike was lunging at the man, and people were backing away, most of them laughing. The man was larger than Ike, but his wits were dulled, and Ike managed to get a few good hits on him before he regrouped. In his tipsy flailing, a blow managed to land across Ike’s head. Then another, and another, until Ike was forced to hold his arms up to defend himself.

None of the onlookers saw fit to intervene. There were murmurs of, “Insolent brat,” and, “Teach that kid a lesson!”

Soren clenched his jaw and pulled out his tome.

The first blast of razor-sharp wind sent the man reeling backward and scattered the crowd as they shouted in fear. A stunned silence followed, and Soren called once again on the spirits, this time fanning them out around him so that the crowd was forced to disperse even further. Ike was kneeling on the ground, and Soren wasted no time in grabbing his hand and creating a vortex of magic around them that propelled them into a full run.

The stalls and revelers became a blur as Ike and Soren whipped through the street, zigzagging this way and that, pushed by the spirits that Soren kept close to them. They ducked into an alleyway, and then into another and another, losing themselves in a maze of grimy dark paths as the wind finally abated and they were left running on their own power.

“Here!” Ike seemed to have recovered, and he now pulled Soren off to one side, where a wooden ladder climbed up a tall building. Ike made sure that Soren was on first, before coming up behind him. They made their way upward, their racing hearts so loud in their ears that they couldn’t tell if they were being followed or not.

Finally, they made their way to an alcove. It was cold and slippery with ice but protected somewhat by a railing and an overhanging roof. Soren could barely register where they were when he pulled himself onto the platform, instead taking a moment to catch his breath. Ike collapsed beside him, panting so hard that Soren was afraid he might start hyperventilating.

Gradually, the noise from the streets below caught up to them. There was a confusion of voices and running feet, but it was far away, and it faded as they listened intently. Finally, Soren sat up and looked around. They were two stories up, overlooking the snow-capped rooftops of Nevassa. Through the grimy window behind them, he could see jagged shapes jutting out from rows and rows of racks. A smithery, perhaps, or a carpenter’s shop.

“Wow…” Ike sat up then, shaking his head a little to clear his vision. “Thanks for that. You didn’t have to, though – I probably could’a taken him.”

“Ike, he was twice your size and drunk,” Soren said. Now that they were away from immediate danger, his emotions were beginning to catch up with him. “What were you thinking, anyway? Why did you attack him?”

“He shoved you,” Ike said, rubbing at his bloody nose (Soren could now see the bruises forming on his face, and his gut twisted with guilt and fury).

“Something like that isn’t worth dying over!”

“Who’s talking about dying?” Ike coughed, his lungs burning from exertion and the freezing air. “Are you OK, though?”

“I am fine,” Soren huffed. “But you need to stop being so impulsive! Your parents are going to be furious when they hear about this.”

“My dad says it’s a knight’s job to protect people.”

“Ike!” Soren slammed his fist into the wood beneath them. “You are not a knight! You’re just a boy! Why are you always so—”

“Hey, relax.” Ike scooted closer, and despite himself, Soren found the proximity to be calming. “Maybe… Maybe it was kinda dumb of me. But I promised I’d protect you, didn’t I?”

“Ike, you don’t need to—”

“One day, I’ll be a knight,” Ike said. “I’ll be your knight, won’t I?”

“But that doesn’t mean you should throw yourself into danger!”

A sheepish grin made its way across Ike’s face. “I guess you’re right. But I was mad, OK? Besides, you were there to back me up.”

Soren was still clutching his tome, and he tucked it away again in his robes, almost self-consciously. “I didn’t mean to do that…” He had probably hurt several onlookers. It wasn’t that he particularly cared, he told himself, but he didn’t want his father to hear of this incident. If Ashnard found out that he’d gone to a town festival, without proper guard, without permission…

“Hey, it’s OK.” Ike put an arm around Soren’s thin shoulders. Though Ike was shorter, his presence was comforting, and Soren leaned into him gratefully. “Nobody’s gonna find out it was you.”

“What if word gets out—”

“We’ll just say you were with me the whole time. And that’s true, isn’t it?”

Soren looked into Ike’s eyes, so hopeful and sincere. He sighed. “This was a bad idea, after all…”

“What makes you say that?” Ike chuckled. “I got in a street brawl, and you scared a whole crowd with your magic. I’d say that was pretty fun!”

The prince examined his friend’s face for any sign of sarcasm, though he knew that he would find none. Ike looked genuinely excited. “Ike…” Soren couldn’t help it. He started to laugh softly. “You are so strange.”

“Heh, so are you!” Ike’s grin widened. “Now, let’s head back to the castle! It’d be bad if someone recognized us.”

Soren took Ike’s offered hand and stood with him. “Finally, you’re thinking rationally.”

“It’s just too bad we’ll miss the bonfire…” Ike began the descent first, with Soren coming after him. “Hey, I know! We can make our own bonfire at the castle!”

“No.”

“Come on, we can burn some of that dead wood they cleared last fall. Nobody’ll miss it.”

“No, Ike.”

Ike was still making plans for their own private bonfire as they crept out of the city and back towards the castle. “We can make it in the training yard, behind that pile of busted armor! I bet we can grab some meat from the kitchens; nobody would notice a little missing.” He seemed perfectly oblivious to what had happened tonight – they had snuck out of bounds, disrupted the town’s celebrations, and probably started rumors of wandering mages (of which Daein citizens were suspicious). All for nothing, really, because they hadn’t even been at the festival that long. But with such a bounce in Ike’s step, Soren found that it didn’t really matter.

He squeezed Ike's warm hand in his, and kept walking.


End file.
